San Francisco 49ers safety Taylor Mays runs drills during practice at the NFL football team's training camp in Santa Clara, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 4, 2011. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
Ran on: 08-06-2011
Taylor Mays: &quo;Every day is a chance for me to get better. {hellip} I'm happy to be out there with these guys.&quo;

Count that as one of the few highlights of training camp for the 49ers' second-year safety.

A part-time starter last year, Mays has been taking snaps with the third-team defense, and a report surfaced Thursday that the 49ers were trying to trade him. San Francisco recently sent out a mass e-mail to the NFL's 31 other teams to let them know that Mays, a second-round pick in 2010, was available.

Mays, 23, struck a diplomatic tone Friday when asked about his sudden status as trade bait. He met with Trent Baalke on Thursday and said he and the general manager were on the "same page" after their talk. Mays said he wasn't taking the Niners' interest in dealing him personally. "If it's business, it's business," he said.

Mays, however, also didn't know if he would be staying in San Francisco for a second season. The Niners signed two free-agent safeties - the Vikings' Madieu Williamsand the Bills' Donte Whitner- this week.

Baalke "just kind of left it as somewhat of an open thing," Mays said. "There definitely was mutual respect both ways, so we'll just see what happens. Regardless of what happens in the future, I'm here now. So I'm going to do what I have to do now to help this team and to be with my teammates and coaches and provide what I can provide for this team. And if everything changes, then it changes. But until then I can't really worry about that."

Mays, 6-foot-3 and 234 pounds, resembles a prototype NFL safety. Despite possessing excellent speed, though, he has struggled to break quickly on passes, both in college and the pros.

He was a first-team All-American as a senior at USC, but had just five interceptions in 50 college starts. As a rookie, he replaced Michael Lewisin the starting lineup in Week 4 and had 11 tackles and an acrobatic recovery of a blocked punt in the end zone in his debut at Atlanta. But he didn't have an interception and defended two passes in his next five starts and was benched in favor of Reggie Smith for the season's final seven games.

In the offseason, Mays said, he added six pounds of bulk and began doing yoga. He also focused on improving his technique and vision in the secondary.

He hopes his hard work translates to success in his second year - wherever he ends up playing.

"Every day is a chance for me to get better," Mays said. "Practice is practice. Footwork is footwork. Technique is technique. I'm happy to be out there with these guys."

Edwards' contract details: Wide receiver Braylon Edwardswill earn a $1 million base salary, but the rest of his $3.5 million salary is not guaranteed, according to CSN Bay Area.

Edwards will collect the full $3.5 million only if he hits all of his incentives, which include 90 catches and a Pro Bowl appearance. Edwards has never had 90 catches in a season - his career-high of 80 came in 2007, his lone Pro Bowl season.

The 49ers haven't had a wide receiver with more than 61 catches since 2003.

Briefly: Frank Gore's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, met the Niners running back as he came off the field after practice. Coach Jim Harbaugh has said the franchise expects to work out a new contract with Gore "sooner rather than later." ... Undrafted rookie wide receiver Chris Hoganleft practice with a leg injury. Hogan, who was having an impressive practice, caught a 50-yard pass from Colin Kaepernick but walked off with a slight limp after a tackle by safety C.J. Spillman. ... Rookie fullback Bruce Millerwas activated from the physically unable to perform list and participated in his first practice. He had been sidelined with a shoulder injury. ... Via his Twitter account, Whitner, who signed with the Niners on Thursday, said he arrived in town Friday night. He could practice today.